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One thing is certain if the Omaha school board votes today to approve an overhaul of the district's school choice plan: Transportation costs will go up.
No cost estimates were presented last week when the plan was explained to board members. But because of the law that created the Douglas-Sarpy County learning community, more Omaha students will qualify for a bus ride if they move within the district.
The Omaha proposal would overhaul the district's own school choice plan. It would allow any child to apply to any school, including magnet schools with specialty programs. It also spells out where learning community students will have priority admission within OPS.
The proposed changes are “important to serving the best interest of students in the Omaha Public Schools as well as working within the learning community's diversity plan,” said Carla Noerrlinger, the district's director of research.
Penny Sophir, an OPS board member on the learning community council, said she is glad the school district is moving forward now. The council will vote Thursday on the two-county diversity plan.
“OPS is used to this kind of thing. We've already had it in practice,” Sophir said of student choice to increase diversity. “It's important we do what we think is right.”
The Omaha district first implemented a voluntary integration plan based on school choice and neighborhood economics 11 years ago, when forced busing ended.
The proposal up for a vote today was designed over the last three years. The process included a handful of public meetings in 2007 and hours of work by a committee charged with review of the official Student Assignment Plan.
How the OPS plan would work
Would my child have to change schools?
No. There is nothing mandatory about anything being proposed. Students currently attending a school could keep attending it.
What does the plan mean for my child's school choice?
The plan would open every OPS school to any child who lives within the Omaha district or any of the 10 other learning community districts. But a priority system would determine how likely they are to get in.
What are those priorities?
First, and new under this proposal, the district would place students in buildings where their siblings attend.
Second: OPS resident students who would improve the economic diversity of their choice school.
Third: Students from the other 10 Douglas-Sarpy County learning community districts who would improve the diversity of their choice school.
Any remaining seats would be available to an OPS or learning community student who would not improve the school's diversity.
Placement lotteries would be used as needed to randomly select students.
How many OPS schools will prioritize my child for admission if he or she is:
>> An OPS resident receiving a free or reduced-price school lunch? Thirty-one elementary schools, three middle schools and three high schools.
>> An OPS resident not receiving a subsidized lunch? Thirty elementary schools, eight middle schools and four high schools.
>> A learning community resident receiving a free or reduced-price lunch? Six elementary schools and one middle school.
>> A learning community resident not receiving a subsidized lunch? Fifty-five elementary schools, 10 middle schools and all seven high schools.
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